Lease Agreement

[MaePaSkies]

I have recently purchased some land with a house in Mae Sot, Tak, and want to have a 30 year lease agreement made. A law firm in Bangkok, is able to draw up the appropriate document with a Thai and English translation but they are asking for 30,000 Baht. Is this a reasonable price for the documents? Is there a cheaper alternative?

Thanks, Al

[Boycie]

Samui For Sale have lease agreements for $99

http://www.samuifors...w,rokquickcart/

or Thai Law Online by Isaan Lawyers for 6,700Baht

http://www.thailawon...t-thailand.html

Haven't used either company, just found their details from my friend google.

Make sure you register the contract at the land office and pay the taxes due, for the 30 year lease to be legal.

I believe if the land paper is not a Chanote or Nor Sor Sam you won't be able to register a lease against it.

Best wishes

Boycie.

[InterestedObserver]

Who actually owns this land with a house that you recently purchased, the wife or girlfriend? I ask because a 30-year lease from your wife is basically worthless

[MaePaSkies]

Thanks for the replies. 6700 THB is a whole lot more reasonable.

I am married with a Burmese national, now Australian citizen. As such we are both foreign nationals.

Regards, Alan

[InterestedObserver]

Since your wife is also a foreign national and neither of you can own land in Thailand, who owns the land and house you recently purchased? Or is the lease deal not yet finalized.

Edited January 10, 2012 by InterestedObserver

[MaePaSkies]

We have the land title deed in the name of a Thai friend of ours. However, the lease will give us the security to live there at least for the next 30 years.

[Khun Jean]

Get a usufruct if possible, it can be for more than 30 years, you can put both your names on it and it will cost you 120 baht.

Advantage for the landowner is that he don't have to pay tax on the received lease amount.

Edited January 13, 2012 by Khun Jean

[patongster]

So a 30 year lease from a Thai wife is no good? Can someone please explain? I'm sure many farangs would be leasing from their wife's.

[terryq]

So a 30 year lease from a Thai wife is no good? Can someone please explain? I'm sure many farangs would be leasing from their wife's.

Any agreements should be made before marriage, prenups are recognised, as after marriage contracts between husband and wife are unenforceable as per Civil and Commercial Code section 1469.

Section 1469. Any agreement concluded between husband and wife during marriage may be avoided by either of them at any time during marriage or within one year from the day of dissolution of marriage; provided that the right of third persons acting in good faith are not affected thereby.

[New007]

I'm interested in this topic. My wife and I have just looked at a house that is for sale, but the land is leased. The leasing will be for 30 years. The land is owned by a temple, but the contract for the inital 30 years will probably be with the person who sells the house since I think they have leased it from the temple.

My questions are regarding this lease contract.

1. What are the most important points to look for in a Thai leasing contract?

2. What will happen after the 30 years? Can they just say we want the land and you lose the house?

3. Will we pay tax in the first 30 years or is that paid by the landlord?

4. Should we get a lawyer to check the leasing agreement?

5. What problems can arise in the first 30 years? Can they cancel the leasing agreement?

Thanks for any comments.

[Langsuan Man]

I'm interested in this topic. My wife and I have just looked at a house that is for sale, but the land is leased. The leasing will be for 30 years. The land is owned by a temple, but the contract for the inital 30 years will probably be with the person who sells the house since I think they have leased it from the temple.

So what you are saying is that you are considering leasing from a third party not the person (temple) that owns the land ?

In the western world that is called sub-letting and must specifically be written and allowed in the original "contract"

Since a contract can be broken or canceled so long as both parties agree what is to keep the "third party" from canceling his lease from the temple, either voluntarily or by not paying the "rent"

IMHO, stay away from this little gem, the only people that are going to win in this convoluted situation are the lawyers

[thaiwanderer]

Sub-leasing isn't necessarily a deal breaker but will properly involve the landowner.

Although better to have simultaneous cancellation of current lease and registration of new lease between new007 and landowner direct.

However for now the greater concern is it being temple land - full due dilligence on title and city planning required here - is their ability to lease out watertight and can OP do what he wants with the land? - temple land deals are often not what they are presented as.

As to new007's other concerns there's lots of threads on leases generally here - perhaps search?

[New007]

So, would it be a better option to do the leasing contract with the temple directly. My wife knows a couple of people who are leasing land from a temple! She will ask them how an appropriate contract should look like. According to her they have lived there for 30+ years!

[thaiwanderer]

So, would it be a better option to do the leasing contract with the temple directly. My wife knows a couple of people who are leasing land from a temple! She will ask them how an appropriate contract should look like. According to her they have lived there for 30+ years!

They might be there under any number of legal (or not) bases.

If all else stacks up (due dilligence!!!), better to lease direct from temple (and have the current lease cancelled, of course).

As to the contents of the lease its the length of a piece of string. You can have a land office proforma that may be entirely sufficient for your needs (though given your questions I doubt it) or have a very thorough lease with lots of genuinely sensible and enforceable clauses as well as some crap shoot likely unenforceable clauses that you might want to include just in case. All depends on what you want for the money you ae dropping.

Given your second mention of 30+ years I suggest you read the numerous threads on leases here. They aren't even a crap shoot.

[New007]

So, I've got the terms for the lease.

It's going to be a direct leasing between the temple and us. The contract is ratified by the land office and a lawyer's office. For the 30 - year lease they have the following rates:

Year 1 - 5 = 570 Baht / month

Year 6 - 10 = 760 Baht / month

Year 11 - 15 = 1,350 Baht / month

Year 16 - 20 = 1,850 Baht / month

Year 21 - 25 = 2,250 Baht / month

Year 26 - 30 = 2,650 Baht / month

After the 30 years the contract will be re-noegotiated.

Is that common practice that the leasing price increases with the time? So on top of the buying price for the house, which is around 1.8 million, there would be another 490,000 on top for the lease. Does that sound fair to you guys? The house is finished. All the fiitings and wiring is done, that includes water pump and tank on the rooftop. It's a 4-storey townhouse which can be used commercially.

Any suggstions or comments on that welcome